Working with a diverse range of students

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Working with a diverse range of students

• Carol Arlett
• Centre Manager

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Session overview

• Introduction to diversity issues
• Raising some of the issues for administrators in
  engineering departments
• Small group discussions of scenarios
• Feedback

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Diversity includes .

• Race
• Religion or belief
• Disability
• Gender
• Age
• Offender status
• Sexual orientation
• Non-traditional background
• Personal circumstances

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Definitions

• Culture The symbolic and expressive aspects of
  human behaviour
• Cultural traditions Norms about how and what we
  do, often passed down through families and
  communities
• Faith A persons beliefs and values
• Religion A set of observances connected to faith
  and often shared by a community
• Race Social divisions based on skin colour and
  physical features
• Ethnicity Membership of a social group, often
  related to geographical region or place of
  origin, with a distinctive language, customs,
  attitudes and values

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Culture and religion legislation

• Employment Equality (Religion or Belief)
  Regulations 2003, introduced in response to the
  Employment Directive, outlaws discrimination on
  grounds of religion or belief in employment and
  vocational training.
• This will have implications for students engaged
  in work-based learning.
• http//www.acas.org.uk

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Legislation (cont.)

• The Race Relations Act (Amendment) Act 2000
  outlaws discrimination on grounds of race by most
  public authorities. It outlines an obligatory and
  enforceable general duty for Universities. They
  must have due regard to the need to
• Promote equality of opportunity
• Eliminate unlawful racial discrimination
• Promote good relations between people from
  different racial groups
• Further information about this legislation at
  http//www.cre.gov.uk/legaladv/rra_amend.html and
  http//www.cre.gov.uk/duty/pdfs/rep_he.pdf

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Some of the issues

• Daily, weekly, monthly and annual schedules
• Timetabling issues
• Exam timetables
• Extensions to course work deadlines
• Clashes with preferences of other students

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Issues

• Diet
• Food at events, fieldwork, placements
• Alcohol at social events
• Dress code
• Health and safety lab work
• Staff wearing sleeveless tops!
• Language
• Avoid patronising, offensive and exclusive
• Use of humour
• Facilities
• Toilet facilities
• Provision of prayer facilities

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Staff experiences

• Giving presents
• Answering with yes and nodding
• Coming to the office distressed and worried
  because they got a mark of 60
• Never admitting they dont understand and not
  willing to ask for help
• Coming to the office frequently regarding an
  assignment
• Not understanding the seriousness of plagiarism

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Resources

• Religious calendars on-line http//www.support4lea
  rning.org.uk/shap/. And www.interfaithcalendar.or
  g/
• Taboo Table Offerings The Intricacies of
  Intercultural Menu Planning www.salesvantage.com/n
  ews/etiquette/taboo_offerings.shtml - for a brief
  discussion of different cultural attitudes
  towards food and alcohol
• Cultural Diversity A Resource booklet on
  religious and cultural observance, belief,
  language and naming systems
• Equality, Diversity and Inclusivity Curriculum
  Matters. SEDA Special 16. 2004

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Working with students with disabilities

• Well, this certainly scuppers our plansto
  conquer the universe!

Well, this certainly scuppers our plansto
conquer the universe!
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Legislation and Code of Practice

• The Disability Discrimination Act 1995 (DDA) and
  the Special Educational Needs and Disability Act
  2001 (SENDA),which amended the DDA, places
  obligations on HEIs regarding the provision of
  post-16 education and related services for people
  with disabilities.
• The QAAs Code of Practice on Students with
  Disabilities provides clear guidance for
  institutions on ways of ensuring that students
  with disabilities have access to a learning
  experience comparable to that of their peers.

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How does it effect your department?

• Departments need to understand the legislation
  and its implications, and to develop good
  practice in response to it. The DDA makes it
  unlawful for a university, or department within
  the university, to discriminate against a
  disabled person. In admissions
• in the terms on which admission offers are made
• by refusing or deliberately omitting to accept an
  application for admission
• in the provision of services provided wholly, or
  mainly, for students. This includes all aspects
  of teaching and learning (including field trips)
  and assessment

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The role of the Departmental Administrator?

• Making students aware of support services and
  facilities
• Liaising with support services, academics and
  student
• Arranging timetables and accessible rooms
• Making lecturers aware of special circumstances
  (need to wear microphone, large text for notes
  etc)
• Exam provision (extra time, special equipment,
  writer)
• Co-ordination teaching materials (Brailing in
  advance)
• Safe working practices in labs
• Signage on doors
• Dealing with complaints!

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Resources

• LTSN Engineering Guide to Working with Students
  with Disabilities 2002 (look out for 2nd Edition
  next year)
• and other resources on our web site
• www.engsc.ac.uk
• SKILL the National Bureau for Students with
  Disabilities - www.skill.org.uk
• National Disability Team - www.natdisteam.ac.uk

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Scenarios 1

• 1.You have difficulties encouraging some of our
  students to attend social events. You think this
  may be due to food restrictions imposed by their
  religions.
• Are there other reasons why they might not be
  attending?
• How would you deal with this?
• 2. You are involved with organising a
  work-placement for a Muslim student in a small
  engineering company. You are concerned about the
  implications of legislation and the student
  fitting in.
• What are the potential issues for the student,
  the employer, and you?
• How would you deal with these issues?

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Scenarios 2

• 3. A blind student has been accepted onto one of
  your courses which includes lab work and work
  placements.
• What are the potential issues?
• How would you deal with them?
• Would you have training needs?
• 4. An engineering student is getting behind with
  his coursework and tutors are moaning about the
  standard of his written work. You think he might
  be dyslexic but he has not discussed this with
  any member of staff.
• What actions would you take?
• What could you suggest to help him?

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Scenarios 3

• 5. A female Asian student always seems to be
  sitting on her own in the coffee bar.
• What action (if any) should you take?
• 6. A student is becoming increasingly demanding
  of your time. He is generally impatient.
• How might this make you feel?
• How would you manage the situation?

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Scenarios 4

• 7. A male student (or member of staff) from a
  Middle Eastern country will not respond to you as
  a female. They ask to be referred to a male
  member of staff
• How would you react to this if it happened to
  you, or a colleague?
• 8. A Japanese student struggled to meet his
  deadlines and high levels of stress resulted in a
  mental health difficulty.
• What might have contributed to his high levels of
  stress?
• What reasonable adjustments might have been made
  to help him to cope?

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